Scotts Valley Fixed

You don’t see too many fixed gear riders in Scotts Valley. It’s a small town in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with significant grades on some of the roads. To get to or from Santa Cruz for shopping or visits means about 500 feet of elevation change over three miles.

Nate here, for example, lives way uphill by the Bethany University campus, but he still likes riding his fixed gear IRO. He rides with brakes; smart guy!

I also met Judy, Nate’s mother. It turns out she is a colleague of my wife. Judy rode her daughter’s Electra Amsterdam to the Farmer’s Market with her husband and with Nate.

My Scotts Valley bike pal Heidi visits the Farmers’ Market almost every Saturday on her Gunnar custom made road bike. She’s about six inches shorter than Nate but wanted to try out Nate’s bike. She loved it!

Having worked in Scott's Valley on a consulting assignment, I can tell you the elevation gain from San Jose to Scott's Valley is way more than 500 feet. Even the gain from Los Gatos to Scott's Valley has got to be considerably more that that.